腰

Tap the pinyin to hear it

the waist and lower back; (bound form) kidney of an animal (as food); the waist of trousers or a skirt; (metonym) money pouch; pocket; (bound form) the middle section of an upright object (mountain, bottle etc)

Make a writing worksheet

HSK 3.0: Level 4
Old HSK: Level 5
Strokes: 13
Radical: 肉 +9
Structure: Left–right 左右
Traditional: 腰
Common rank: #875
Unicode: U+8170

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 腰 is formed

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

⺼ meaning “flesh” + 要 sound ( yào )

Components ⺼要

How to remember it

waist · Heisig RSH #1255

part of the body + 要 want

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 腰

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
白腰文鸟	bái yāo wén niǎo	(bird species of China) white-rumped munia (Lonchura striata)
黄腰太阳鸟	huáng yāo tài yáng niǎo	(bird species of China) crimson sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja)
点头哈腰	diǎn tóu hā yāo	to nod one's head and bow (idiom); bowing and scraping; unctuous fawning
转腰子	zhuàn yāo zi	(coll.) to pace around nervously; to speak indirectly; to beat about the bush
等腰三角形	děng yāo sān jiǎo xíng	isosceles triangle
半山腰	bàn shān yāo	the mid-slope of a mountain
半中腰	bàn zhōng yāo	middle; halfway
白腰雪雀	bái yāo xuě què	(bird species of China) white-rumped snowfinch (Onychostruthus taczanowskii)
小白腰雨燕	xiǎo bái yāo yǔ yàn	(bird species of China) house swift (Apus nipalensis)
腰子	yāo zi	kidney
为五斗米折腰	wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhé yāo	(allusion to Tao Qian 陶潛\|陶潜[Tao2 Qian2], who used this phrase when he resigned from govern…
山腰	shān yāo	the mid-slope of a mountain
下腰	xià yāo	(gymnastics) to do a bridge; to do a crab
腰间肉	yāo jiān ròu	excess fat on the waist; love handles
腰果鸡丁	yāo guǒ jī dīng	chicken with cashew nuts
后腰	hòu yāo	lower back; (sports) defensive midfielder
书腰	shū yāo	(Tw) (publishing) belly band (paper sash around a book, outside the dust jacket)
前腰	qián yāo	(soccer) attacking midfield; attacking midfielder role
腰身	yāo shēn	waist; waistline
腰金衣紫	yāo jīn yī zǐ	golden seal at the waist, purple gown (idiom); in official position

Sound family

Characters sharing the sound component 要 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
要 sound part	yào	essential, necessary; to ask for; to coerce; to demand
崾	yǎo	a place name in Shanxi province